CMJ: Subatomic Sound System & a very special guest in Brooklyn, Thursday 10/18. Stay tuned for details. Admission will be free with RSVP but limited capacity! Follow our Twitter and Facebook page for the real time updates.

Two of the UK’s dubstep pioneers and most aggressive innovators now are pushing the sound of dub and bass beyond genre definition. Find out what that means when they meet the one and only Francois K at his world famous dub inspired Deep Space party. Kode9 founded the Hyperdub label, home to one of the first chart topping dubstep artists, Burial, as well as the Brainfeeder label with LA’s Flying Lotus. Appleblim’s Skull Disco releases were a cornerstone of early dubstep, characteristic of the wide range of creativity the genre was known for in its early years.

Deep Space is an adventure into future dub, spacey vibes, and abstract grooves featuring resident dj François K. live on the mixingboard.

Kode9 BIO:

Kode9 vibrates parts other DJs can only dream of. His DJ sets and radio shows helped spread the early dubstep sound internationally, but his sets now weave together an unpredictable, bass heavy mix of house, garage, dubstep, grime, footwork, hip hop, r&b and techno.

Originally from Glasgow, but based in South London since 2000, Kode9 set up the record label Hyperdub in 2004, infamous for unleashing artists such as Burial (and countless others) on the world. He has recorded 2 albums of his own with vocalist Spaceape; Memories of Future (2006) and Black Sun (2010) and released 2 DJ mix compilation, Dubstep Allstars vol.3 (Tempa 2006) and DJ Kicks (K7 2011). Kode9 has also released tracks on Aphex Twin’s Rephlex label, and remixed for Lee Scratch Perry for On U Sound, the Junior Boys for Domino, Battles for Warp, and Dabrye Feat. Doom for Ghostly.

For 5years, he hosted the weekly Fwd>> show on Rinse FM, London’s leading pirate radio station, and was one of the rotating DJs at DMZ, and Fwd>>, the seminal early dubstep nights in London. He now co-hosts the Hyperdub monthly show on Rinse FM with Scratcha DVA.

Kode9 has performed at Sonar Festival, Sonar Tokyo, Mutek, Glastonbury, Unsound, Melt and Coachella as well are gracing clubs nights across Europe, Asia, North and South America, Australia & New Zealand and South Africa with his unique selection skills.
APPLEBLIM BIO
Appleblim came to light running and releasing on the now defunct Skull Disco with Shackleton. Having been regulars at FWD>> from late 2002, then the only place you could hear dubstep, they were inspired by the likes of Digital Mystikz, Youngsta, D1 & Skream, to set up Skull Disco to release their own efforts at production. After the success of their vinyl only singles, the label went on to achieve more success with their popular CD compilations Soundboy Punishments 1 & 2.

With more and more DJs opening up to their sound after Ricardo Villalobos famously opening his sets with pitched-down Shackleton tracks, the label went from strength to strength when they released Vilalobos’s epic 18 minute remix of ‘Blood On My Hands’ , which many saw as a meeting of the dubstep and techno worlds (although Appleblim & Shackleton would just say was a good tune!).

In the meantime, Appleblim was asked by FWD>> boss Sarah to do some warm up sets at the influential dubstep and future music club. After seeing how his sets went down there she asked him to mix the 6th installment of Tempa’s genre-defining mix series Dubstep Allstars. The mix garnered rave reviews in the dance music press, featuring in many Top 10s of the year, and even appearing in Resident Advisors forthcoming Top 20 mixes of the decade.
When he and Shackleton decided to fold Skull Disco on a high, Appleblim went about setting up Apple Pips – an outlet for some of the amazing music that he was getting passed and playing round the world.. The label debuted with Martyn’s ‘Suburbia’ and has since released genre shattering tracks by Brackles, Instra:mental, Ramadanman, Al Tourettes, Greena, Jus Wan & Brendon Moeller.

Concentrating mainly on collaborations with Ramadanman, Geiom, Komonazmuk & Al Tourettes, Appleblim has gained a name for truly interesting and challenging remixes of Brendon Moeller, The Black Ghosts, and Planetary Assault Systems for reknowned labels such as Wave Music, Southern Fried, & Ostgut Ton. Apple Pips continues to release quality electronic dance music of all genres, with a concentration on more upcoming Bristol based talent as well as tracks from talented producers round the world.

Dub Champions festival runs from September 20-24 in NYC! Check the full lineup including , Lee Scratch Perry, Clive Chin’s Augustus Pablo tribute, Kode9, Appleblim and more. Sign up to get all the festival details and check the full lineup from 9/20-24 at: www.DubChampions.com

Whether you consider him genius or madman, 76 yr old Grammy winning, dub reggae inventor is one of the most dynamic characters in music history. Considered by many as the creator of both reggae and dub, he was a mentor to Bob Marley, co-writing and recording some of his greatest work. Check his original recordings of Bob Marley’s “Sun is Shining” or “Kaya” as an example. Constantly pushing boundaries, he has worked with the Beastie Boys, recently recorded an album with rave pioneers, The Orb, and toured the US backed by electronic based dubstep crew Subatomic Sound System, working in samples of his classic Black Ark studio recordings over bass heavy dubstep influenced beats.

Saturday 9/22 — Dub Champions Festival & Dubspot present an educational workshop and analog dub mix demonstration with famed Randy’s Studio dub producer Clive Chin and engineer Prince Polo at Dubspot music school using archived August Pablo master recordings. This is a continuation of Dubspot’s series archiving the works of Clive Chin at Jamaica 17 North Parade Studio.

Friday 9/21 — Scientist & Roots Radics rid NY of the Evil Curse of the Vampires! w/special guest Johnny Osbourne, the first time these three join forces to perform their classic dub album “Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires”. You can’t get any better than one of Jamaica’s pioneering dub innovators, Jamaica’s #1 band, and one of Jamaica’s best vocalists together on one stage. Lookout for more special guests like Screechy Dan touching the mic, percussion legend Larry McDonald, and more!

The Dub Champions festival warms up on the first night with a NYC institution: Deadly Dragon Sound‘s weekly rub-a-dub party, right around the corner from the Deadly Dragon record shop: all vinyl selectors (aka DJs) with DJs (aka MCs) rocking the mic, preserving the Jamaican sound system culture from which dub originally evolved. Always expect surprise guests. Vibes come correct. ADMISSION IS FREE!

We would like to introduce you to DUB CHAMPIONS FESTIVAL 2012, September 20-24, the most ambitious Subatomic Sound project yet, a five day excursion from the past to future of dub history & influence featuring the the world’s greatest dub inventors and innovators: Scientist & Roots Radics, Lee Scratch Perry, Kode9, Clive Chin, Appleblim & more.

BEFORE THE SHOW! Lookout for beautiful, limited edition, full color posters available in various sizes at the events as well as t-shirts.

Looking fwd to seeing you at the festival!

PRESS FROM LAST YEAR’S DUB FESTIVAL

“Finally NY gets the dub music festival it deserves” – TIME OUT NY
“Celebrating & restoring the centrality of dub in [music] evolution is an explicit goal of the festival ” – Boston Globe
“The first systematic presentation of the thrilling art of dub” – NPR

The Dub Champions Festival is a five day excursion into the international musical phenomenon called “dub”, a style characterized by heavy bass, drums and copious use of effects, where the producers become the artists and the mixing board becomes an instrument.

This year’s festival reaches from the reggae roots of dub to the future of bass music and features some of the world’s greatest from across that spectrum, including the dub producers who literally invented and shaped the genre in Jamaica during the 70s and 80s: Lee “Scratch” Perry, Scientist, and Clive Chin as well as the Roots Radics band who created the music Scientist’s dub mixes were based upon and who reshaped reggae into a harder charging roots style that would come to be known as “dancehall” with vocalists like Yellowman, Barrington Levy, and Johnny Osbourne.From its roots in the late 1960s Kingston reggae studios to its evolution into the digital age, dub has had a massive impact on music across the globe, giving birth to modern remix culture, creating the platform for the sound system culture that would lead to the creation of rap music, and influencing the production techniques of artists from hip hop & electronic dance music to punk & rock. The influence of this underground and often misunderstood phenomenon is undeniable.

For an example of just how far it has reached, be sure to check out the show with UK dubstep pioneers Kode9 & Appleblim who are pushing it into the far reaches of electronic bass music.

Big one! Subatomic Sound System with Japan’s Goth-Trad (DEEP MEDi Muzik) at Cielo, NYC on Monday, August 27 for Francois K’s Deep Space party. Funktion One audio for the deepest bass. Not to be missed. Click the Twitter & Facebook links on the top of this post to spread it!

A rare exploration into vintage, current and outer-planetary dub in all of its sweet carnations and alien shapes. Advance tix at www.residentadvisor.net/deepspacenyc Facebook event page here. Click below for music and videos.

Featured Releases

Super Ape Returns to Conquer! Lee “Scratch” Perry & Subatomic Sound System team up to re-imagine the Perry’s classic, genre defining dub album, reloaded for the sound system generation. Out now on DL, CD, & vinyl LP.

“NYC-2-Africa-2-Brasil” features two of the world’s top reggae vocalists, Anthony B and Jahdan Blakkamoore, and builds on the NYC-2-Africa project from Subatomic Sound System & Nomadic Wax, a mission to musically connect the roots of NYC hip hop back through Jamaican reggae and then back to Africa. Here it takes another musical journey on an express train to Brasil

Lee “Scratch” Perry & Subatomic Sound System, “Black Ark Vampires”, a throbbing sound tune propelled by subsonic bass, bubbling skanks, and pulsing beats that balance the mystical vibes of classic Jamaican dub reggae recordings with the flammable energy and subsonic vibrations of current electronic bass music, a recipe perfected during their past four years of tours spreading authentic dub to a new generation in places like Coachella, Dub Champions Festival, and Red Bull Music Academy.

“Jah is Coming” is a bass charging 140BPM rootical dubwise UK steppers style cut inspired by classic 70s Jamaican dub. “Dubbing on the Moon” on the B side is a pulsing roots dub driven by a thunderous bassline built on Subatomic Sound System’s original reggae rockers riddim “Our Father, Our King” produced and dubbed in a Jamaican style.

Vinyl Exclusives

Super Ape Returns to Conquer! Lee “Scratch” Perry & Subatomic Sound System team up to re-imagine the Perry’s classic, genre defining dub album, reloaded for the sound system generation. Out now on DL, CD, & vinyl LP.

Lee “Scratch” Perry & Subatomic Sound System, “Black Ark Vampires”, a throbbing sound tune propelled by subsonic bass, bubbling skanks, and pulsing beats that balance the mystical vibes of classic Jamaican dub reggae recordings with the flammable energy and subsonic vibrations of current electronic bass music, a recipe perfected during their past four years of tours spreading authentic dub to a new generation in places like Coachella, Dub Champions Festival, and Red Bull Music Academy.

“Jah is Coming” is a bass charging 140BPM rootical dubwise UK steppers style cut inspired by classic 70s Jamaican dub. “Dubbing on the Moon” on the B side is a pulsing roots dub driven by a thunderous bassline built on Subatomic Sound System’s original reggae rockers riddim “Our Father, Our King” produced and dubbed in a Jamaican style.

About Subatomic Sound

Subatomic Sound is a dub and bass culture focused record label, radio show, event promotions, and home to the Subatomic Sound System DJ/production crew and live band -- based in New York City and hard at work on every level. Spearheaded by Emch as producer, DJ, and musician, Subatomic Sound does original production, audio recording, audio mastering, sound design, soundtracks, live performance and DJ sets. Subatomic Sound System is known for genre bending dubwise productions, explosive shows, and breaking down barriers with a forward thinking adaptation of 1970’s Jamaican sound system culture and analog dub reggae studio techniques to current bass music genres, digital technology, and live performances.